14 May 2012

Disneynature and the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) today announced the impact of the latest Disneynature conservation program

Disneynature and the Jane Goodall Institute Announce Conservation Program Impact

Program Will Protect 129,236 Acres of Habitat, Educate 60,000 Schoolchildren about Chimpanzee Conservation, and Care for Orphaned Chimpanzees

BURBANK, Calif. (May 11, 2012) – Disneynature and the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) today announced the impact of the latest Disneynature conservation program “See ‘Chimpanzee’ Save Chimpanzees.” For every moviegoer who saw Oscar the chimpanzee on the big screen during the film’s record-setting run, (April 20-May 3, 2012), Disneynature made a donation to JGI through the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, which will profoundly impact JGI’s efforts to conserve chimpanzee habitat, grow educational programs for schools and provide care for orphaned chimpanzees.

The conservation program will help to protect 129,236 acres (202 square miles) of wild chimpanzee habitat through infrastructure investments in the expanded Tchimpounga Nature Reserve in the Republic of Congo (Congo). Additionally, the program will enable JGI to exponentially grow its education program on the importance of protecting chimpanzees, reaching an estimated 60,000 children in 100 schools in Congo. The education initiative will extend to the students’ parents and neighbors, ultimately reaching nearly half of the country’s population. The program will also provide food and medicine for nearly all of the orphaned chimpanzees at JGI’s Tchimpounga chimpanzee sanctuary for at least the next year.

"A huge ‘thank you’ to Disneynature and the millions of people who saw ‘Chimpanzee’ in its first two weeks,” said Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace. “The conservation program ‘See “Chimpanzee,” Save Chimpanzees’ substantially raised public awareness about the threats facing chimpanzees and their habitat, and everyone who saw the film helped the Jane Goodall Institute continue its efforts to protect these amazing beings and their forest home now and in the future."